Convertible baby chair and book rack



y 29, 1951 E. M. BORTHWICK 2,554,851

CONVERTIBLE BABY CHAIR AND BOOK RACK Filed March 12, 1949 Patented May 29, 1951 UNITED CONVERTIBLE OFFICE BABY CHAIR BOOK RACK Eva Millicent-.Borthwick, London, Ontario,v Canada Application March 12, 1949, Serial-No. 81,085

hClaim. 1

This invention relates to high-chairs used by small children or babies when they are fed or when they are allowed to sit without supervision.

These chairs are usually built somewhat higher than the standard chair used by adults for the purpose of bringing such children to a comfortable height when seated at a dinner table or when fed by an adult. Such chairs are also provided with means for safeguarding the child from falling out of the chair when not under the care of an adult.

This type of chair has become a necessity where small children or babies are present, but its use is limited to only a few small portions of the day, so that the greater part of the day, when children are asleep or at play on the floor or in bed, the chair stands idle. In small homes or apartments, the storage of such a chair when not in use becomes a problem as it is usually of a cumbersome construction and cannot be moved out of the way into some vacant corner.

It is therefore an object of this invention to simplify and reduce the size of a high chair.

And another object of the invention is to provide a high chair which can be converted into some other piece of furniture so that when it is not in use as a high chair it can be converted and kept in the place of such converted item.

The above objects are accomplished by providing only a part of a high chair which in combination with an ordinary chair converts such a chair into a high chair, and building the said high chair part in such a manner that it can easily be converted into a magazine or newspaper rack when not in use, and as such, kept in a living room or den where magazine racks are usually kept.

In describing the invention reference will be made to the attached drawing in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of one part of the invention,

Figure 2 is an isometric view of another part of the invention, 7

Figure 3 is a similar view of yet another part of the invention,

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the invention when completely assembled for storage,

Figure 5 is an end elevation of Figure 4, and

Figure 6 is an isometric view of the invention assembled into a high chair.

The invention consists of seat part I, a tray part 2, and a back part 3.

The seat part I is made of two walls 4, 4- and a base 5 and a partial back 6; located above the base 5 and properly spaced from it is the seat 1,

The seat 1 is provided with a hole 8 by means of which the invention may be carried from place to place when it is assembled for storage or as a magazine rack. In the walls 4, 4, are two grooves 9, 9, one in each wall and running parallel to the upper edge of the said wall. Another pair of grooves Ill, l0, cross the grooves 9, and run down the walls 4 at an angle as shown in Figure 1.

The tray part 2, is made of the usual shaped flat tray II having a raised rim [2 around the front edge. The tray H is supported on a pair of arms l3, 13, which are provided with lateral extensions I4, l4.

The seat back 3 consists of a flat board of the required width and height, and is cut away on each side as shown by I5, l5. These cutaways will be explained in connection with the storage assembly of the invention.

In Figures 4 and. 5, the invention is shown assembled when not in use for storage or shipment. The back 3 is inserted into the upper portion of grooves 9, 9, above the tray 2 which has also been inserted into the lower portion of the same grooves by means of the lateral projections l4, [4. The cutaway sections [5, l5, allow the back 3 to straddle the tray 2 within the grooves 9, 9.

To use the invention as a magazine rack, it is to be placed upon the floor in the position shown either in Figure 1 or in Figure 5. The partial back 6 becomes the base of the magazine rack, and the space between 5 ,and l is the storage space for magazines. An additional storage space can be provided between 3 and l as shown in Figure 5, and for appearance sake, the tray 2 can be removed from the grooves 9, 9, and kept elsewhere.

In Figure ,6, the invention is shown assembled into a part of a high chair which when placed upon any standard chair provides an elevated seat for a child, and all other essentials of a high chair. In this case, the invention sits upon the base 5 so that the part I becomes the seat. The part 3 is inverted and inserted into the grooves l0, [0, so that it becomes the back of the chair, while the tray 2 is inserted into the grooves 9, 9, and thus occupies its usual position on the high chair. Straps may be attached to the chair in any position required, for the safety of the child. These have not been shown in the drawing as they are more or less standard equipment. The entire assembly as shown in Figure 6, is placed upon the seat of a chair and it is then ready for use.

I claim:

An article of furniture which forms a childrens high chair in combination with a standard chair, and which when not in use can be converted into a magazine rack, comprising a seat section formed into a box-shaped container by a base board, a seat board located above and spaced from the said base board, a back board, and two opposite side boards which extend above the seat board to form seat arms, two opposite and parallel grooves one in each of the said arms for the purpose of receiving a tray inserted therein, an inclined groove crossing each of the first mentioned grooves and running down the seat arm, for the purpose of receiving a seat back inserted therein, a U-shaped tray supported on arms having lateral extensions by means'of which the said tray is inserted into and held by the said parallel arm grooves, anda flat board seat back which is inserted into and held by the above mentioned inclined grooves, said seat back being cut away atits sides to permit the insertion of 20 4 both the tray and the said seat back into the said parallel grooves, at the same time, for storage purposes.

EVA MILLICENT BORTHWICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 83,801 'Iowne Nov. 3, 1868 960,360 Lynch June 7, 1910 1,046,299 Hyde Dec. 3, 1912 1,074,701 Eastburn Oct. 7, 1913 2,418,731 Seitz Apr. 8, 1947 2,470,834 Peltier May 24, 1949 2,479,086 Silverman Aug. 16, 1949 2,491,676 Matthews Dec. 20, 1949 

